I WRESTLED A TIGER TODAY

By Andrew Farrow

Today I wrestled a tiger -

not stripes and teeth,

but pressure and noise

and the weight beneath.

It roared in my thoughts,

it pulled at my pace,

left doubt in its shadow,

and fire in its chase.

I looked in its eyes,

held steady, unshaken -

no blink, no retreat,

no ground left forsaken.

“Come on then,” I said,

“give it your best, tiger.”

My voice may have trembled—

but I stood there, defiant.

I didn’t run.

I stayed in the fight -

not winning, not losing,

just holding on tight.

And maybe that’s strength,

in its rawest form -

to stand in the chaos

and weather the storm.

~

Click here to read more poems by Andrew.



SISTER-DOVE

By Leonore Wilson

“The thought that I might kill myself formed in my mind coolly as a tree or a flower.” ― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

And with leather straps they cinched

me to the gurney, hefted me

into the mouth of the ambulance, 

and I lay there in my paper gown 

watching the slow traffic --

those glinting schools of homebound 

fish -- while at my side a young paramedic

with a blank face said nothing

nothing for miles upon miles

and I glimpsed the red dragon

of the Golden Gate, a jumper’s Shoal 

or Paradise; oh bridal scrim, foghorn, 

lute where maiden dusk becomes

a falling star and in the distance

Parnassus heights near Sutro Tower 

Is where my young brother

took his life; oh sister-dove,

sister-dove do you hear the cathedral 

bells of old St Mary’s, do you hear 

their rapacious hunger; sister

dove tell me where is this northern

Bedlam I am heading towards

in this gallows drowning night …

THE FAWN IN THE FENCE

By Rebecca Stickler



Trapped in your own mind,

like a frightened baby deer

trapped in a barbed wire fence.

You struggle to break free

just to find yourself tangled

and in even more pain.

You try to cry out for help

but—just like the baby deer—

your cries for help are ignored

as if you're invisible to the world.

Every thought,

just like every move,

makes the pain worsen

until it becomes too much to bear.

Eventually you find yourself exhausted:

mentally and emotionally.

And just like the baby deer,

you give up and you let go.

Tired, hurting, sad and alone,

you become cold and everything fades to black.

Suddenly the pain is gone.

Finally...

you're free. 

ABOUT THE POEM: This piece uses the metaphor of an ensnared animal to explore the exhaustion of mental health struggles.

ABOUT REBECCA: Rebeccais a poet based in Alliance, Ohio. Her work focuses on the intersection of mental health and the human experience, often utilizing nature as a mirror for internal landscapes. This is her debut publication. 

LOCKET

By Jackie Chou

You're a hitchhiker 

in my heart,

a passenger,

free-riding through 

the hills and valleys 

of my moods.

I try to ditch you,

to no avail,

for you're inside me,

(like this),

confining me

to the brackets

of our lives,

not the other way

around.

ABOUT JACKIE:  Jackie is a writer from Southern California who has two collections of poetry, The Sorceress and Finding My Heart in Love and Loss, published by cyberwit. Her poem "Formosa" was a finalist in the Stephen A DiBiase Poetry Prize. Besides writing, she loves to watch Jeopardy.

In their own words, writers and poets write about their own personal journey with mental health.

Ten amazing writers and poets talking about their own personal journey with mental health.

Featuring poets from around the world, with up to six pieces of their work, and a little about the author and the stories behind their work.

And lots more ...

Promoting poetry books and publications.

And lots more ...

We have published over 100 books for other people. Just a few examples below: